The NFL draft is known as a crap shoot. You can find a hall of fame player just about anywhere but being able to identify them is the biggest challenge. Some teams can find great talent anywhere while others struggle to find good players in round one where it’s the easiest to identify those talents.
The Minnesota Vikings have seen all forms of both success and failures and their track record at the 23rd overall pick is the epitome of just that. They have made four total selections at the 23 in franchise history and it’s a complicated one.
2021: LT Christian Darrisaw
The Vikings ended up hitting on a gold mine with the 23rd pick in the 2021 NFL draft. They thought about taking him at pick number 14 but made a trade to go back and get two third-round picks and still ended up with Darrisaw.
Only sliding likely due to a core muscle injury that prevented him from testing. His athleticism and power are a tremendous asset to his game and it has set the Vikings up for a long time.
2016: WR Laquon Treadwell
The Vikings entered the 2016 offseason with a lot of questions at wide receiver. They saw Stefon Diggs emerge as a fifth-round pick and Adam Thielen looked like he was about to emerge, but the one thing that they didn’t have was a player to play the X position. It is a key one for the offense that Norv Turner likes to run.
They wanted TCU wide receiver Josh Doctson but he went to Washington at pick 22. Instead, they took Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell and he never was able to live up to any sort of expectations. His athleticism was not great and it seemed that he never fully recovered from the broken leg that he suffered in 2014.
2013: DT Sharrif Floyd
Floyd was an interesting prospect coming out of Florida in 2013. He was projected often in the top five to the Las Vegas Raiders. Being that he was viewed as a 4-3 specific 3-technique, there were only a few teams that needed that position.
The Vikings had two first-round picks going into the draft and they had a slight need at the position, but the talent was too good to pass up. Floyd was primed to have a great fourth season until a routine knee surgery went awry where the surgeon ended up cutting a nerve. It’s really unfortunate because he was perfect for what Zimmer wanted to do on defense.
1965: WR Lance Rentzel
Back in the 1960’s, the draft was even more of a crap shoot than it is now. You were fighting with the upstart American Football League who had money to burn to lure players to their league. The Vikings drafted Rentzel in the second round of the 1965 NFL draft and were able to keep him. It unfortunately didn’t work out.
He played in 20 games over two seasons for the Vikings amassing only two catches for 10 yards. He left the Vikings after the 1966 season and ended up having a solid career once he left Minnesota. His career finished with 268 receptions for 4,826 yards and 38 touchdowns.
What can we learn?
There really is only one takeaway you can get from the Vikings’ four selections at pick number 23 overall: the draft is beyond random.
In order to get a great player that late in the draft, you have to have quality work from your scouting staff and have a little bit of luck. The expectations should be that they contribute somewhat in year one and hopefully you find a Pro Bowl level talent.
